Unruly Professor (Tainted Professors)

Chapter 1

1

Bad days always happened in threes.

Not three days, but three bad things in the same damn day. At least that was the way it always rolled for Zach Quinn.

As the first one began to unfold in real time over his phone, the tally started counting in his head.

Strike one.

The text on his phone mocked him. Stopped him in his tracks as he walked across the campus of St. Genesius where he was employed as a tenured professor in the science department.

I’m moving to Maine with Justin.

Justin? Who the hell was Justin?

He racked his brain to put a face with the name but failed on every level. Not easy to do. He had a pretty damn good memory when it came to names, even having met thousands of people at the university and through the Tortured Angels Motorcycle Club he led.

No one came to mind. Not one stinking person.

The mover in question was his current FWB—strike that—apparently, ex-FWB, Sasha.

He quickly typed out enjoy and left it at that. One thing he wasn’t going to do was to get bent out of shape over a woman who didn’t want him any longer. Honestly, they were never going to be a thing for long. Wasn’t his style or his groove. Too much to do and see and be to get tied down to one person who didn’t want to be.

Tying being the operative word.

Sasha might have looked hot, but she was boring as hell in bed. No sense of adventure. Everything had to be perfect and staged and…yuck. He liked it dirty, rough, and spontaneous. Not something that seemed as if she was staging it for some kind of porn site to get followers.

No one posed like Sasha.

Still, it kind of pricked his pride that she’d cut him to the inevitable chase and dumped him first.

Zach picked up his pace and made it to the admin building about the time his phone pinged with the reminder of the meeting.

Admin was his favorite group of people to thumb his nose at. Since being hired by the private, conservative university, he’d used his subtle form of rebellion to raise brows and consciences while still maintaining the reputation for having the most popular classes on campus.

Semester after semester, there were waiting lists for his classes. Evaluations from students were always the highest on campus. Admin knew and they generally left him alone, which was why getting called to the office like an errant coed made him a bit suspicious.

He entered the offices and waved at the receptionist. Mathilda had worked at St. Genesius since the 1970s and was one of his favorite people. He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out an envelope.

“As promised.” He slid it over her desk as she looked up with tears in her grateful eyes.

“Thank you so much. I don’t know…”

Zach leaned over and kissed her papery cheek. “Just use the information and contact Dr. Bryer. The worst that can happen is you’re back to square one. But I’ve read the studies myself, and I think it’s worth exploring.”

Mathilda’s husband, Harry, had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a few months before. Dr. Eugene Bryer had been a good friend of Zach’s in college and had been testing a promising new therapy to treat the particular form Harry had. It seemed a perfect match up.

If Zach could help, he was glad to do so. No thanks necessary.

One of the office doors opened and the Dean of Science and Technology regarded Zach with a less than eager expression. “I thought I heard your voice. You can come in.”

“Thanks. Nice to see you, Rodger.”

Dr. Rodger Stokes bristled at being called by his first name rather than Dean or Dr. Stokes—even Dean Stokes. The man was all about appearances and on what rung of the ladder a particular individual stood.

Zach entered the office and took a place on the large leather sofa instead of the chair in front of the oversized mahogany desk. He placed his messenger bag at his combat boot-covered foot and let his jacket fall open exposing the T-shirt that read: Bad to the Bones complete with an anatomically accurate skeleton.

Dean Stokes had an expression of distaste as he motioned to the desk. Whether the disapproval was due to Zach’s wardrobe choices or the fact he sat so far away, it was hard to tell. “If you would like to join me over here, I would be obliged. I don’t wish to yell.”

Obliged? Really? What did Rodger think this was a Victorian stage production or that he got paid by the syllable?

Now, how to get out of doing what old Rodger wanted without appearing to be dragging his feet?

Since he couldn’t readily think of one, he stood and made his way over to the desk then sat down in the highly uncomfortable chair and stared at his immediate superior.

“What did you need to see me about?” Zach prompted. He had things he wanted and needed to do and none of them included hanging around campus longer than necessary.

Rodger studied Zach over the bridge of his linked fingers, stretching out the moment with unnecessary drama. Finally, he opened his mouth to put Zach out of his suspense. “We’ve had to open another one-hundred level Anatomy and Physiology class. This one will be an evening class and none of the other professors can take it. It’s yours.”

“When is it?”

“Thursday evenings, at six-thirty.”

Fuck. There went his standing appointment. He’d have to call Penny and make other arrangements. Not a complete deal-breaker. Things could be moved around as necessary.

Zach stared at Rodger for a few minutes before he shrugged. Positive they’d given him the class because it was at a shitty time or inconvenient, they failed to realize it didn’t matter. They were still going to have to pay him for it.

He’d make it work. It was only one semester.

As he left, he caught the look of triumph on Rodger’s face. Oh, yeah, the guy hated him. For Zach’s part, he really didn’t care what the fucker thought of him personally. Just don’t fuck with his life. He might not like authority, but then he had his reasons for that.

Strike two.

He waved to Mathilda on the way by. His motorcycle was parked on the other side of campus. Not that St. Genesius was all that large, but it did have a lot of sloping hills and shady trees. It was really a beautiful place to spend four to six years.

Once at the bike, he dug out his keys and stuck them in the ignition. After the day he’d had, going back to his place was going to feel like nirvana. Only one more bad thing and his day would be complete. He really wanted to get home before that happened.

The ride home through the mountains was tranquil and calming.

Serene. That’s what he needed after the day he’d had. Those few weeks before the fall semester started should be chill—but this year hadn’t been. Today was one meeting after another and filled with frantic students, both under and grad, who needed his attention. Generally, he loved working with them, but today they all had a case of the frantics.

Center your thoughts. Zach repeated the words as a spellcaster might an incantation to ward off evil spirits. The other motorcycle boot was about to drop and no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the feeling of the inevitability.

Still, he drove on. The Harley ate up the miles as he grew closer to home. All he wanted was a cold beer, a sandwich, and maybe some mindless porn. Anything to get away from the damn thoughts that kept spiraling through his head.

All right, so he hadn’t believed in forever with Sasha, but that didn’t mean it didn’t bug the shit out of him that she’d met someone and hauled ass to Maine before breaking it off with him first. Even at his most dickish he had never cheated. It wasn’t in his DNA. Not even with an FWB situation. To him even friends with benefits suggested some form of loose commitment. A one-off, no sweat, he wasn’t going to get bunged up about it. Hooking up for a threesome when everyone was cool with it—awesome. But that was hardly the same thing.

Zach was very open about the fact that he didn’t want to get tied down. Sasha knew the score going into the relationship. The fact she wasn’t as forthcoming with her sleeping around pricked his pride in the worst way.

The road curved around the mountain with his street halfway down. He made the turn and drove up to his house, parking the Harley in the drive.

When he went to grab his house key, he stalled. What in the fuck? Where did his key go?

He dug deeper into his pocket. Maybe it came off when he’d pulled them out of his pocket, and he didn’t realize it. Hard to believe but how else did he explain it? The damn thing wasn’t on his key ring anymore.

Boot meet ground.

The last hit to the bad day—having to break into his own damn house.

Taking a walk around his house, he studied the windows. One of them had to be open. Up here in the mountains, it didn’t get hot enough for him to use an air conditioner while he wasn’t home. The expense didn’t make it feasible, so he usually left a window open or cracked at the very least. Besides, the neighborhood was pretty quiet and secure. Most of the homes were owned by seniors and he liked it that way.

His home was his haven, his refuge when the voices of his past grew too loud to think.

Neither of the windows in the kitchen were open. Nada on the French doors. Damn. Not even the kitchen door that entered from the garage was unlocked. Maybe he’d left a bedroom window open. Cool mountain air made for good sleeping, so he usually kept that one cracked if not fully open.

A quick assessment and the pane was up about four inches.

Yes!

He started to remove the screen to crawl through when he heard a twig snap behind him.

“Put your hands up behind your head and turn around slowly.”

Zach’s stomach dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He did as told, knowing even as he turned to face the police with guns drawn that he’d gone way past three bad things.

The guy was a big bastard, that was for sure. Filled out those jeans in all the right places. Too bad he was a criminal breaking into the house next door.

Tovah Reese watched the drama unfold from the kitchen of her Grandma Rose’s house. From what Rose had told her of the neighbor, he was a biology professor at a local, private college. A real sweet boy.

This dude didn’t look like he could even spell biology let alone teach it at the collegiate level. Not to mention he hadn’t been a boy in a very long time. His hair was cut short and tight, beard long, tattoos so bountiful the only skin showing on him were his face and hands.

He stood with those hands behind his head as he turned to face the police.

“Ha, caught you red-handed,” she whispered.

As if he heard her, his gaze looked to the window where she stood. Disgust and anger filled his face.

Tovah jumped back and almost tripped over Trixie—Rose’s cat. “Stop sneaking up on me. You’re like a lint ball with eyes.”

Trixie let out a plaintive mew.

Feeling guilty for snapping at the feline when its world had been turned upside down, Tovah reached down and picked up the old girl and held her close. She rested her chin on the cat’s head as she gazed back out the window and her jaw dropped.

“What the hell…?”

Not only was the bearded menace not being arrested, but the cops were shaking his hand and talking to him like he was some great hero who had rescued the entire town from certain calamity. At least that’s what she read from the body language of both cops.

Then the perpetrator reached into his wallet and pulled out what looked like a couple of business cards and handed them to the cops.

“What in the world?” Tovah shook her head and stepped back again.

What kind of crazy neighborhood had she moved to? Rose had said that the neighborhood was safe and quiet. Just the kind of place Tovah needed after the past six months. Since Rose had entered a skilled facility for a while after an accident on the slopes had ended her career with the Silver Skiing Club, Tovah had agreed to move into Rose’s house and care for Trixie in the interim.

It had been a sound decision at the time. Rose didn’t have to worry about her house or her cat, and Tovah got a vacation from real life.

“I don’t know, Trix. Looks like this might have been a terrible idea.”

Having been loved on enough to suit her, Trixie struggled to get down.

“You’re just as fickle as most men, Trix. Are you sure you’re not a male?”

As if to prove herself, Trixie lifted her tail to swish as she walked away.

Damn, maybe she could learn a few things from the cat. Turn away, swish, and never look back. That skill would have come in handy six months ago. No, instead she had made a total ass of herself over a man who had never deserved her.

Pain from the remembered humiliation and embarrassment flooded back.

One day, maybe she’d be able to think of that time and not feel as if she was naked and exposed in front of her entire family and been ridiculed for something that wasn’t even her fault. The fact the asshole hadn’t been fired, that her pain had been written off…

Then he had the audacity to try and keep in touch with her. She had blocked him so fast; it was a wonder her screen hadn’t locked up.

Making fists at her sides and pushing the betrayal away, she took a deep breath right about the time the doorbell rang.

She looked out the half-moon window and closed her eyes. Great now she’d have to deal with an angry lumberjack. The thought to not open the door and pretend she wasn’t home was attractive, but the fact remained that this was Rose’s house and she’d rather confront the felon, so Rose didn’t have to when she eventually returned home.

After grabbing an umbrella out of the stand, she opened the door a crack. “May I help you?”

His eyes widened and pupils dilated. The lips behind the beard opened and damn it they were sexy lips. Then he turned and gave her the side eye. “Tovah?”

Surprise backed her up a bit. Oh, no. She wasn’t about to confirm or deny her name until she knew a little bit more about him. Like, how in the hell he knew her name in the first place.

“You’re Miss Rose’s granddaughter. Right?”

All right, this was just downright creepy.

He held out his big, inkless hand. “I’m Zach Quinn, your neighbor.”

No way. This could not in any universe be Dr. Zach Quinn.

Her gaze shot to his and then to his shirt that read Bad to the Bones.

A lifetime of good breeding and manners rose to the surface, and she found her hand in his as he pumped it up and down a few times.

“Tovah Reese.” She didn’t bother with the ‘nice to make your acquaintance’ since she was still in shock that the picture she’d created of him in her mind was the polar opposite to the man in front of her.

“You aren’t at all what Miss Rose described.”

It took her a moment to get her head wired straight again to realize he actually meant those words. That he had been thinking the same thing about her that she had been about him.

Her mouth had a mind of its own. “What did you expect?”

Shut up. You know what he expected.

The truth was anyone who saw Tovah and Rose together, were shocked to discover they were related. Where Rose was slim, delicate, and petite, Tovah was tall, curvy, and flame haired. As a matter of fact, standing there in her bare feet, she could look Dr. Bad to the Bones straight in his damn ice-blue eyes.

She scowled. He seemed to have a hard time getting his jaw and lips to work.

“Well?”

He held up his hand. “Not important.”

At least he wasn’t dumb enough to go there.

“In future, though, when and if you see me breaking into my own house, don’t call the police. They have better things to do.”

Tovah lifted a brow and regarded him through narrowed eyes. “Why would you suppose it was me?”

Zach spread his arms wide and indicated the houses on both sides of the street. “Because everyone else on this block knows me and they wouldn’t have called the cops. They would have walked their ass over and asked if they could help.”

As if she was about to go over and help someone break into a house when she didn’t even know the identity of the one doing the breaking.

“That’s quite the presumption, Dr. Quinn.”

“I only use my credentials in class.” Then his gaze went from annoyed to heated and landed straight on her mouth. “Though I like the way it sounds coming from you.”

Even more annoyed, Tovah made a face. Trixie took that opportunity to run through her legs and out onto the porch.

“Hey, Miss Trix.” The traitorous feline went straight to Zach and stood preening at his booted feet like an adoring acolyte. Then the cat delicately stretched and placed her paws, one atop the other, on his leg. He laughed and the sound went straight through Tovah, upsetting her equilibrium and igniting a fire.

He bent down and indulged Trixie by picking her up. “How’s my favorite furry girl?”

A plaintive mew came in answer, along with a rubbing of her head along his jaw.

Tovah rolled her eyes and turned to go back in the house. “Just chuck her in the door when you’re done.”

“‘Chuck her?’” The words were said in all astonishment. As if he thought she meant for him to throw her like a shot-put.

“You know? Put her back inside.” Tovah flapped her hand. “I don’t have time for this today.”

Actually, she had time for anything and everything. The incident had seen to her departure from the family business and with a lot of extra time on her hands while she re-evaluated her life and career decision.

Another reason why being at Rose’s had been a good idea at the time. It had taken her out of the sphere of interacting with her family on a daily basis and answering only to herself. Even if they had tried every means possible for a reaction since she’d gone no contact.

The only one she talked to was Rose.

The advice had been typical for her grandmother. She’d told Tovah to get her head and ass wired together and tell the family to piss off.

Rose took no prisoners. She never had. The fact she had given birth to Tovah’s father was a miracle.

Warren Reese was a piece of work. Half the time he was embarrassed by his own mother’s antics. When Rose had her ski accident, Warren had stood at her bedside and said now maybe she’d act her age. Rose had simply blown raspberries at him and banned him from her room.

Tovah walked back through the house and sat down at the little table in the corner where she’d set up her laptop computer.

The house was small and unassuming. Grandma Rose kept no staff, except a cleaning lady who came in a couple times a month. She cooked for herself and did as she pleased. So not in keeping with the rest of the Reese family. Except for Tovah, who had taken notes from Rose’s book and followed her lead in that respect.

Tovah powered up the computer and went to the St. Genesius website. There were courses at the local college she wanted to take and needed to get registered. As it stood, she was late to get her schedule and there weren’t many left. Then again, she already had a degree so most of her general courses transferred. What she needed were specifics and higher than the two hundred level on science and math.

Across the room the door clicked shut. Trixie pawed at the wood, mewing as if her heart were breaking.

“Oh, for crying out loud. Get over it. Cross-species relationships hardly ever work out.”

Trixie looked over her shoulder as if Tovah had denounced the gospels.

“All right. If you want your heart broken, don’t say I didn’t warn you. But that man is pure trouble.”